Theory of architecture

Main article: Architectural theory

Historic treatises
The earliest surviving written work on the subject of architecture is De architectura, by the
Roman architect Vitruvius in the early 1st century AD.[8] According to Vitruvius, a good building
should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas,[9][10] commonly known by the
original translation – firmness, commodity and delight. An equivalent in modern English would be:

 Durability – a building should stand up robustly and remain in good condition.

 Utility – it should be suitable for the purposes for which it is used.

 Beauty – it should be aesthetically pleasing.

According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as
possible. Leon Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, De Re
Aedificatoria, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a
part. For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure,
the Golden mean.
The most important aspect of beauty was, therefore, an inherent part of an object, rather than
something applied superficially, and was based on universal, recognisable truths. The notion of
style in the arts was not developed until the 16th century, with the writing of Vasari:[11] by the 18th
century, his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects had been translated
into Italian, French, Spanish, and English.

Ancient Roman architect Vitruvius described in his theory of proper architecture, the proportions of a man.

In the early 19th century, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin wrote Contrasts (1836) that, as the
titled suggested, contrasted the modern, industrial world, which he disparaged, with an idealized
image of neo-medieval world. Gothic architecture, Pugin believed, was the only "true Christian
form of architecture."
The 19th-century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, published
1849, was much narrower in his view of what constituted architecture. Architecture was the "art
which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men ... that the sight of them" contributes
"to his mental health, power, and pleasure".[12]
For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance. His work goes on to state that a building
is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way "adorned". For Ruskin, a well-
constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, at the
very least.[12]
On the difference between the ideals of architecture and mere construction, the renowned 20th-
century architect Le Corbusier wrote: "You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these
materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly
you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is
Architecture".[13]
Le Corbusier's contemporary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said "Architecture starts when you
carefully put two bricks together. There it begins."[14]

The National Congress of Brazil, designed by Oscar Niemeyer

Modern concepts
The notable 19th-century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted an overriding
precept to architectural design: "Form follows function".
While the notion that structural and aesthetic considerations should be entirely subject to
functionality was met with both popularity and skepticism, it had the effect of introducing the
concept of "function" in place of Vitruvius' "utility". "Function" came to be seen as encompassing
all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also
aesthetic, psychological and cultural.
Nunzia Rondanini stated, "Through its aesthetic dimension architecture goes beyond the
functional aspects that it has in common with other human sciences. Through its own particular
way of expressing values, architecture can stimulate and influence social life without presuming
that, in and of itself, it will promote social development.'
To restrict the meaning of (architectural) formalism to art for art's sake is not only reactionary; it
can also be a purposeless quest for perfection or originality which degrades form into a mere
instrumentality".[15]
Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their approach to building
design
are Rationalism, Empiricism, Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Deconstruction and phenomenolo
gy.
In the late 20th century a new concept was added to those included in the compass of both
structure and function, the consideration of sustainability, hence sustainable architecture. To
satisfy the contemporary ethos a building should be constructed in a manner which is
environmentally friendly in terms of the production of its materials, its impact upon the natural
and built environment of its surrounding area and the demands that it makes upon non-
sustainable power sources for heating, cooling, water and waste management and lighting.

Philosophy of architecture
Main article: Philosophy of architecture
Wittgenstein House

Philosophy of Architecture is a branch of philosophy of art, dealing with aesthetic value of

architecture, its semantics and relations with development of culture.
Plato to Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Robert Venturi as well as many other philosophers and
theoreticians, distinguish architecture ('technion') from building ('demiorgos'), attributing the
former to mental traits, and the latter to the divine or natural. [16]
The Wittgenstein House is considered one of the most important examples of interactions
between philosophy and architecture. Built by renowned Austrian philosopher Ludwig
Wittgenstein, the house has been the subject of extensive research about the relationship
between its stylistic features, Wittgenstein's personality, and his philosophy. [17][18][19][20]